sea ray 185 sport

[dieselsmoke]

Hello all, 1st post here. I was looking for some opinions about this boat as a 1st boat for family. Mainly to cruise the Delaware river, and inner waterways in NJ. Pulling a tube or skier and some occasional fishing. This boat is for sale close to where I live so its very convenient. If anyone is familiar with this model is there anything to pay special caution to? It looks like it was well cared for and has low hours. Also what would be a fair price? I plan to have a boat mechanic go over it before any purchase

2007 sea ray 185 sport

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...oker&&hosturl=anchormarine&&ywo=anchormarine&

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[BSTN]

I have the same boat in the same year, mine being black instead of red. Looking at the add, it seems as though the boat has been taken care of and 76 hours is nothing. Still good for a mechanic to go over it regardless.

How many people do you plan on carrying? Gear, coolers, etc. adds up quick and the boat can get pretty tight.

I added a tower for wakeboarding to mine and the kids love tubing. One thing I do is strap the cooler to the swim platform to keep the floor open inside the boat.

The only thing I changed was prop pitch for a better hole shot and pulling people up out of the water.

I boat on the lower Colorado and for what I do this boat is great. Haven't had any issues, I just keep up with the maintenance and everything has been fine.

If you have any specific questions let me know and I'll try to answer the best I can.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Steve195]

I have the next larger version of that boat (195) and love it. Just don't expect to have more than 4 people on board and be comfortable for anything more than a sightseeing cruise. Space is at a premium so if you start adding tubes, coolers, etc. You'll be very tight. The good news is that boat has more storage area than a lot of boats in it's size class. I had 4 adults and a teenager on board this weekend for a day of tubing. Everything is fine when you start, but by the end of the day when there are towels, snacks, trash, shirts, bathing suit cover ups, shoes etc. around the boat, it's tight.

76 hours is low, so plan to spend some money getting some mechanicals replace. Filters, fluids, impeller, belt, battery, etc. replaced before you head out. Just because a boat has low hours doesn't mean you can skip maintenance. Boats like to run more than they like to sit.

 

[BillK2632]

I have an older model of the same boat. Other than the type of maintenance and wear items you would expect from a now 16yr old boat, it is been a very good boat with not real problems. For now I don't have any plans to change mine. It still looks and runs good. The 4.3 engine paired with an Alpha I outdrive is very solid. Get it checked out, hours are actually low, average is about 50hrs / yr - not a bad thing but probably want to make sure all the maintenance is up on it, especially water pump impeller. Probably need a new owner to run it more than anything! From the ad it looks like a nice boat. Asking price seems about right, those little boats hold their value well.

 

[dieselsmoke]

hey guys, Thanks for your advice! I hope it works out, heading to the dealer this morning.

 

[dieselsmoke]

just got back from the dealer. so $12,500 with a new battery and all oils changed. Mechanic gave it a clean bill of health with nothing needing attention. Dealer said that the last owner has several boats and stores them all inside. The carpets look like new, seats have no signs of wear and the engine started right up and ran perfect. Im keeping my fingers crossed and trusting the mechanics opinion. Thanks for your feedback!

 

[MrHappy]

just got back from the dealer. so $12,500 with a new battery and all oils changed. Mechanic gave it a clean bill of health with nothing needing attention. Dealer said that the last owner has several boats and stores them all inside. The carpets look like new, seats have no signs of wear and the engine started right up and ran perfect. Im keeping my fingers crossed and trusting the mechanics opinion. Thanks for your feedback!

Hope you are not using the dealer's mechanic. You need to have an engine survey and a hull survey. I strongly suggest both. This is from experience.

I bought my boat from Brownie's Marine near Indianapolis. Their mechanic said everything was great. Bought the boat for Christmas with a 30 day guarantee after they dewinterized it. I put the boat in in April. Used it 7 times. The lower unit blew 7 days after warranty. I took it back to them hoping they would give me a little loving. Loving cost me $1,800.

The boat was 10 years old and had 285 hours when i bought it.

 

[BillK2632]

Sounds like you did ok, congratulations on your new boat. Where are you planning to keep it, in water, trailer dry stack? I noticed just now it has bottom paint? As far as a survey, personally on boat that small I don't think it is worth it - at least not a full blown survey, a lot of surveyors offer more of an inspection for small boats - probably a good idea if you are not comfortable checking it out yourself. Need some pictures of that new boat!

 

[dieselsmoke]

The mechanic is a personal friend of mine with years of experience. So i trust his opinion. I agree that the dealers mechanic might not be the most trustworthy way to go. Going out next week sometime to take it on the water. It does have bottom paint. im getting an error that says ive exceeded my limit when I try to upload the pictures. ill try again in a bit

 

[blaster]

You might inquire more about the bottom paint. That definitely will lower the value in a trailer boat such as this. It implies it was wet slipped which can accelerate wear. Was it slipped or used in saltwater? If so it may have internal corrosion issues even if it looks perfect on the outside.

Make sure along with the mechanical check you put it through the paces on the water before you finalize the sale.

 

[Steve195]

. im getting an error that says ive exceeded my limit when I try to upload the pictures. ill try again in a bit

Become a sponsor of the site (as low as $25/year) and you get plenty of photo space. It's money well spent!! You'll learn a lot here. Just click on the "Support The Site" link near the top of the page.